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LM Viewpoint: The Technology Issue
We’ve stayed clear of themed issues over the years because each issue is designed to touch on all of the fundamental logistics management elements every month. But when I re-examined the editorial line up that surrounds our annual “Technology Roundtable” and Webcast this month, it seemed ideal to call this “The Technology Issue.”

Maersk Deal With Microsoft Brings More Digitization to Global Supply Chain
While much transportation trade press attention has been given to the predicted purchase of Hamburg Sud by Maersk, the Danish mega carrier has been quietly negotiating a deal with another legendary giant in the information technology sector.

Freight data is starting to tell a pretty good story
While I may have been on vacation this past week, that in no way means the rest of the industry was, not in the very least to be sure. And while I was out, there was plenty of stuff going on in the freight transportation and logistics sectors, especially as it relates to interesting and relevant data points. Freight data Q1 2017, Freight Transportation update

New trade policies may have negative impact on industrial real estate markets
President Donald Trump’s focus on curbing the trade deficit by bolstering U.S. exports and reducing imports could drive policy changes that impact industrial real estate markets throughout the U.S., Cushman & Wakefield reported in logistics and industrial research briefing released recently.

FMC’s loss is Port of Long Beach gain
A welcome change is coming to the U.S. West Coast next month as Federal Maritime Commissioner Mario Cordero takes on leadership of the Port of Long Beach.

Retail sales remain the heartbeat of consumer activity
It is well known that retail sales represent somewhere around two-thirds of all economic activity, and that U.S. retail sales contribute around 14 percent, or $2.6 trillion, to U.S. GDP. That is a major number and clearly cannot be overlooked, especially when looking at how closely connected retail and consumer activity is tied to the freight transportation and logistics sectors on so many fronts, including trucking, intermodal, parcel, ocean, air, and e-commerce.

New ocean carrier alliances pose challenge for logistics manager’s “cargo connections”
The recently concluded “Cargo Connections Conference” organized and sponsored by the Port of New Orleans, outlined a rather bleak picture for those concerned about ocean carrier solvency as new alliances get under way

Trucking execs are talking about addressing infrastructure woes. Is Congress listening?
How many times can high-powered transportation executives make the case to Congress that increasing infrastructure investment is vital to our nation’s economic competitiveness? Apparently, that is, and has been, a question without a true answer. But that does not mean the freight transportation and logistics sectors will stop making logical sense in pleading their cases to an ostensibly illogical Congress.

ArcBest takes diversification route
When Judy McReynolds took over as board chairman last year, she began accelerating ArcBest’s move away from its traditional, unionized LTL operation into a new, more diversified approach to transportation.

U.S. Department of State adopts collaborative contracting in logistics
DOS is seeking a new approach to a single source contract that, at its core, is doing what 3PLs do best: providing customized, reliable services through multiple modes of transportation.

Top 50 Trucking Companies: Staffing changes in trucking sector
Preliminary research indicates that the entire logistics industry is on a course of change due to more women entering the workforce.

Cargo Connections Conference to draw industry leaders to New Orleans
Next week’s 9th annual “Cargo Connections Conference” (CCC) will be hosted by the Port of New Orleans, and will examine (among other things) the solvency of ocean cargo carriers and the anticipated impact of shifting carrier alliances.

California’s ports may face new political pressures during “Peak Season”
In its monthly “West Coast Trade Report,” the Pacific Maritime Shipping Association alerts shippers to the Fact that the South Coast Air Quality Management District has proposed not one – but two – different container fees to be assessed on containerized imports and exports moving through Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland.

Is the era of high inventories behind us?
For more than a while now, the subject of inventories, specifically those among the high, bloated, or elevated type have been a major theme within supply chain and freight transportation circles.

Rebalancing trade with Asia while confronting the dark side of globalization
The world’s largest regional economic cooperation group convened earlier this month in an effort to assure freer Asia-Pacific trade that secures the advantages of globalization while safeguarding the welfare of people hurt by it in the past.

Watching the weather
In case you are wondering about the status of a shipment, the weather may be keeping it off the roads or rails today. We have provided some links for service and contingency plans for transportation and logistics service providers with Northeast operations.

Federal Maritime Commission has shippers’ back
The FMC says that the initiative undertaken by THE Alliance carriers to keep the goods moving for shippers and other stakeholders in the event of a carrier member becoming insolvent is a step in restoring confidence after the Hanjin bankruptcy.

The never-ending truck driver shortage
We talk and read and hear about how about the projected shortfalls in the difference between the actual number of drivers out there and what is actually needed. And we talk about other things, too, like the aging truck driver workforce, potential drivers not wanting to be away from home for long stretches and, of course, the millennial effect, in which they would rather be doing something “cooler” than driving a truck for a living.

Ocean cargo carriers must ramp up collaboration with terminals to ensure recovery
Two new technological developments in Pacific Rim ocean cargo shipping took place last month that could redefine terminal and carrier strategies for the long term.

Infrastructure plans remains long on vision but short on specifics
In his address last night, Trump again rang the bell for infrastructure improvements, noting that the United States has spent trillions overseas, while infrastructure at home has crumbled, but he pointed to a bright future, saying that “Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and railways, gleaming across our very, very beautiful land.”


March 2024 Logistics Management

March 4, 2024 · While this year may be a close copy of 2023 in terms of supply chain execution as it relates to e-commerce moves, forecasting is more precarious. The instability and conflict have no upside, only more disruption—which inevitably leads to service and cost impacts across the board.

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